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Email Marketing · head to head

Keila vs ToolJet

Keila logo

Keila

Email Marketing

AGPL newsletter tool from Germany, self-hostable or hosted in the EU with no free plan

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
ToolJet logo

ToolJet

No-Code

Open-source low-code platform for building internal tools and business apps

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Keila there is no free hosted plan at all, stated as deliberate policy, so unlike almost every competitor there is no way to run a small list at zero cost without self-hosting it yourself.; ToolJet free and Pro tiers cap end users at 50, which may be too low for apps needing broad internal distribution.
  • They diverge on capability: Keila covers Priced by emails sent, ToolJet covers Drag-and-drop app builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Keila and ToolJet actually diverge.

Attributes where Keila and ToolJet differ
AttributeKeilaToolJet
Pricing modelPer month by emails sentfreemium
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Self-hostedweb, api, linux, windows, mac
CategoryEmail MarketingNo-Code

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Keila

  • Priced by emails sent
  • Bring your own sender
  • Self-hosting
  • EU hosting
  • Sign-up forms
  • Segmentation
  • Markdown and block editor
  • Multiple projects

Only in ToolJet

  • Drag-and-drop app builder
  • AI-assisted generation
  • Database and API connectors
  • Self-hosted and air-gapped deployment
  • Multi-instance deployments
  • Dedicated support manager

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Keila

  • A membership organisation holding forty thousand contacts but sending only one newsletter a month, where contact-metered pricing would cost many times morenot ToolJet
  • A European publisher or public body that needs subscriber data held in the EU under a GDPR-friendly arrangementnot ToolJet
  • A technical team that wants to self-host its newsletter tool and route sending through its existing AWS SES accountnot ToolJet
  • An agency running several separate client lists that does not want to pay per project or per additional listnot ToolJet

ToolJet

  • Building internal admin dashboards and appsnot Keila
  • Self-hosted or air-gapped internal tool deploymentnot Keila
  • AI-assisted rapid app prototypingnot Keila
  • Connecting multiple data sources into one appnot Keila

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Keila

  • There is no free hosted plan at all, stated as deliberate policy, so unlike almost every competitor there is no way to run a small list at zero cost without self-hosting it yourself.
  • Marketing automation is minimal, with none of the behavioural triggers, journey builders or e-commerce revenue attribution that Klaviyo, Brevo and Mailchimp treat as table stakes.
  • The self-hosted route puts deliverability entirely on you: reputation, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, warm-up and bounce handling are your problem, and a badly configured instance will land in spam folders.
  • It is a small project from a small company, so the integration ecosystem is thin and there is no partner network, template marketplace or large body of community expertise to draw on.
  • Email volume tiers step in fixed blocks, so an organisation whose sending is uneven across the year either overbuys at the annual peak or has to change plan repeatedly.

ToolJet

  • Free and Pro tiers cap end users at 50, which may be too low for apps needing broad internal distribution.
  • Enterprise pricing starts at a steep $3,000/month, a large jump from the $199/month Team plan.
  • AI credits reset monthly and do not roll over, penalizing uneven month-to-month usage.
  • Smaller integration and community ecosystem than more established players like Retool.

Pricing, plan by plan

Keila

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • AGPL-3.0-or-later licence with no fee
    • Official Docker image and sample compose file
    • You supply hosting and a sending backend
  • Keila XS$8/month
    • Two thousand emails per month
    • Unlimited contacts and projects
    • Send with Keila or bring your own email server
  • Keila M$32/month
    • Fifteen thousand emails per month
    • Unlimited contacts and projects
    • Sign-up forms and segmentation
  • Keila XXL$256/month
    • Two hundred and fifty thousand emails per month
    • Unlimited contacts and projects
    • Intermediate tiers at 16, 64 and 128 EUR for 5,000, 50,000 and 100,000 emails

ToolJet

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 2 builders
    • 50 end users
    • 2 apps
  • Pro$79/month
    • Unlimited builders (per-builder pricing)
    • 50 end users
    • 5 apps
  • Team$199/month
    • Unlimited builders (per-builder pricing)
    • 100 end users
    • Unlimited apps
  • Enterprise$3000/month
    • Unlimited end users
    • Custom AI credits
    • Dedicated support manager

Which should you pick?

Choose Keila if

  • You need priced by emails sent.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted.
  • You also want bring your own sender.
Keila review

Choose ToolJet if

  • You need drag-and-drop app builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api, linux, windows, mac.
  • You also want ai-assisted generation.
ToolJet review

Questions people ask

Is Keila or ToolJet better?
Neither clearly leads. Keila starts at Free and ToolJet at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Keila or ToolJet?
Keila starts at Free and ToolJet at Free.
Does Keila or ToolJet run on more platforms?
Keila runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted. ToolJet runs on web, api, linux, windows, mac.
Can I use Keila for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Keila best used for?
Keila is most often used for a membership organisation holding forty thousand contacts but sending only one newsletter a month, where contact-metered pricing would cost many times more, a european publisher or public body that needs subscriber data held in the eu under a gdpr-friendly arrangement, a technical team that wants to self-host its newsletter tool and route sending through its existing aws ses account, an agency running several separate client lists that does not want to pay per project or per additional list. Of those, a membership organisation holding forty thousand contacts but sending only one newsletter a month, where contact-metered pricing would cost many times more and a european publisher or public body that needs subscriber data held in the eu under a gdpr-friendly arrangement are not what ToolJet is typically brought in for.
What can Keila do that ToolJet cannot?
Keila covers Priced by emails sent, Bring your own sender, Self-hosting, EU hosting. ToolJet covers Drag-and-drop app builder, AI-assisted generation, Database and API connectors, Self-hosted and air-gapped deployment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Keila: Is Keila free?

The software is, under AGPL-3.0-or-later, if you self-host. The hosted service has no free plan by deliberate policy and starts at 8 EUR a month.

ToolJet: What happens if I run out of AI credits?

Users can continue using all other ToolJet features as normal and can contact support to purchase additional AI credits when the monthly allotment runs out.

Source
Keila: How is the hosted service priced?

By emails sent, from 8 EUR for two thousand up to 256 EUR for two hundred and fifty thousand a month. Contacts and projects are unlimited on every tier.

ToolJet: Do unused AI credits roll over?

No, AI credits reset every month and unused credits do not carry over, which ToolJet says helps maintain consistent service quality.

Source
Keila: Can I use my own email provider?

Yes. AWS SES, Sendgrid, Mailgun, Postmark, generic SMTP or a personal inbox are all supported as sending backends.

ToolJet: Can ToolJet be deployed on-premise?

Yes, both the community and enterprise editions support on-premise and air-gapped deployments, typically completed in under 30 minutes.

Source
Keila: Are there discounts?

Pentacent offers reduced rates to nonprofits and open source projects on request.

ToolJet: Is there a free trial for paid plans?

ToolJet offers a 14-day free trial for both its business and enterprise editions.

Source
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